Natives of The Apocalypse (NOTA) is Santa Fe’s newest theatre company of Indigenous performers and theatre producers. They are passionate about creating powerful Native American stories. NOTA’s debut production is an “indigenized” version of Lyle Kesslers Orphan, which is scheduled to take place from August 18th to 20th.
“Just like reimagining Shakespeare’s Hamlet in a corporate office or Loesser’s Guys and Dolls with an African American cast, we saw potential in Orphans to tell a unique indigenous story”.
Meet the Natives of the Apocalypse
NOTA is a group of four “brothers” Enoch Chapman, Montana Miller, Sean Seymour, and Isaiah St Cyr, (Sioux, Ho-chunk, Navajo, and Central American); Indigenous creatives who met at the Institute of American Indian Arts. They have come together to give a voice to Native Americans in the Arts world and provide opportunities to those who have never been given a chance in theatre. They seek to empower Native Americans to share and tell their stories in unique and profound ways and are determined to strengthen the Native American voice through creative practice.
About the Production of Orphans
Lyle Kessler’s Orphan, which originally premiered in 1983 is a critically acclaimed and commercially successful production that follows two orphaned brothers and an unsuspecting stranger on a wild, hilarious and moving journey. The NOTA company is taking some creative liberties by reimagining some ancillary ideas to craft a world that exists in an indigenous context. The guys at NOTA firmly state that they are not changing the play!
“There is no way that one idea conveys all of western hemisphere indigenous people. Indigeneity is way more complex. However, certain themes do exist among indigenous individuals that unite us all. By altering a word or two in the script we are able to highlight some of those themes through subtle ideas”.
Some of the themes you can expect in this production are family, love and forgiveness.
Get Involved: NOTA is raising funds
We all know that from the venue, to the costumes, to the set, sound, makeup and more- funding is necessary to realise a compelling production. Through their Kickstarter Page learn what you can do to help fund NOTA’s debut performance. By contributing, you can even earn a number of fantastic rewards including free tickets, merchandise and actual pieces of the costumes you will see on stage! Visit their Kickstarter Page to get involved.
The “indigenized” Lyle Kessler’s Orphan premiers on August 18th through 20th at the Institute of American Indian Arts. Support the Natives of the Apocalyse and be refreshed by this new perspective.
Connect with NOTA on their Website and on Instagram.
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